I am missing the life abroad though a lot and sometimes think I didn't make the right decision but in the long term it should work out.

IMO you have made the right choice, and if you get a decent international school job it won't take that long to pay off debts of 30K.

I'm still a bit puzzled as to the costs of doing a PGCE in the UK these days, and grateful if you can break it down. (I have a friend who is interested). Basically, it used to be that the govt paid all PGCE tuition fees AND paid all PGCE students a grant.

My understanding now is that everybody has to pay the tuition fees, but some subjects (eg. maths) still receive a non-refundable grant (or bursary as you call it). Correct?

I also heard that nowadays you have to teach in a UK school for a year or two post-qualification, otherwise the govt doesn't recognise the PGCE fully. Is that true?

The availability of funding/bursaries changes pretty much every year, as it's based on shortfalls in teacher numbers in specific subjects. Plus every successive government and education minister likes to tinker with it. For 2012/13 there were bursaries for some subject combinations that depended on degree clasification. A far as I know they haven't announced what funding (if any) will be available for 2013/14 yet. Going on past decisions, there is no reason to assume it will be the same or even similar to the current offer.

The requirement for a newly qualified teacher (NQT) induction period has been around since about 2000. It's a minimum of 1 school year, and is only compulsory for state school teaching, though in practice most private schools will insist on it as well. There's a lot of rules and regulations on where and how you can do NQT induction.

Basically, you get QTS by sumbitting a portfolio and passing the skills test. Most people do that through a PGCE or B.Ed, but there are other routes. (You can pass your PGCE and fail QTS and vice versa). After you have QTS, if you want to work in a state school, you have to do 1 year as an NQT (or the equivalent if you work part time). NQT's should have a reduced workload (80-90%), a supervisor and additional on the job training.

I should have read this thread first but I would point out that teaching has many transferable skills. Sales is the most common link to teaching abroad. Some government work may appreciate years of experience in a foreign country.

If possible getting a foothold in a career at home before doing this job is probably best. Just be attentive to transferable skills and experiences. Possibly pick up a cred or two online related to your interest while doing this work.

Stay connected on both the job qualifications and networking front if you have some things in mind.

Apply for that job while vacationing at home. Phone an HR department on a Friday afternoon and have a talk about the job and it's relation to your teaching career. Keep your resume updated. Maybe two or more. Keep your eye on the ball.

Starting to think I'm one of the few that had a different career then changed to TEFL....

I know of a few people here in Vietnam that have started down the TEFL route, then branched out into Corporate Training in fields they are familiar with (mostly hospitality, as that is the major growth industry here). These are people that have the gift of the gab, and talk their way into jobs.

A lot depends on which country you end up in. Some countries would offer local salaries, which are way beneath what you'd earn TEFLing - so that's another thing to take into consideration.

i do internet activity, theres a ton of things you can do to earn online while sitting at home (or where ever) that make more than TELF and more than most whitecollar careers in a western country . dont play a suckers game

Nope, but I'd like to. It's hard. The more you TEFL, the harder it can be to stop for a variety of reasons. You get very involved in TEFLing, spoilt by the TEFL life, too old, too little experience in other jobs, etc.

That's a barrier, but there's another barrier to making the kind of connections that the OP wants. In the west, we jump from occupation to occupation, but in many other countries, a teacher is always a teacher. Once people know you as a teacher, despite what other skills you may have, they will find it difficult thinking of you as a business person or a consultant. It takes a lot of work to make that transition, especially in Asia. Think about it, it's hard to think of the hired clown as someone to give you business advice.

Starting to think I'm one of the few that had a different career then changed to TEFL....

That describes me as well. In a sense, we have an advantage because we have recognized skills in other fields. The challenge is in not letting those skills grow stale. Plus, it's important to maintain professional contacts and networks. Moreover, as Teacher Jack mentioned, we, and other TEFLers, may get labeled as teacher, or more specifically, the person who worked in strange-sounding, foreign places that are hard to find on a map. Others may find it difficult to identify with us, and subsequently, those unique qualities and skills that enabled us to live and work abroad might get overlooked as we seek out new career opportunities.

i do internet activity, theres a ton of things you can do to earn online while sitting at home (or where ever) that make more than TELF and more than most whitecollar careers in a western country . dont play a suckers game

Outsourcing is becoming popular. elance, guru, odesk are all places. The prob is that you're competiting with people from places like India, Philippines or China who are willing to work for a LOT less than you. However, Business 101 is never compete on price. If you do a good job, you'll find your niche. It'll take time and effor though.

Has anyone successfully leveraged their teaching abroad experience into a different career?

With the way things are today? Haaa!

Look, take the U.S. for example. People there could care less that you have been teaching English in other countries. Having experience teaching EFL is like having a Masters in basket weaving...it will do very little for you in the economic climate of today.

A few years back, whilst bored one day in the staff room out in North Africa somewhere, I set myself the task of looking at people's resumes/CV's online to try to discern the most popular non-teaching/training career populated by ex-TEFLers,

Has anyone successfully leveraged their teaching abroad experience into a different career?

With the way things are today? Haaa!

Look, take the U.S. for example. People there could care less that you have been teaching English in other countries. Having experience teaching EFL is like having a Masters in basket weaving...it will do very little for you in the economic climate of today.

Yeah, well, it's not realistic to expect an abundance of ESL jobs in countries where English is the national or official language. Plus, blaming a sluggish economy for the lack of ESL jobs back home is a cop out. It's also not realistic to expect employers in other fields to fawn over us because we taught English in exotic Dohickyland. The reality is that many of us chose TEFL in response to the need for EFL teachers overseas---we saw an opportunity and took it. That same line of thinking should be applied as we return home for work---possibly retraining or reinventing ourselves to meet the requirements for whatever job we have our sights set on, especially in other fields that are in demand. Supply and demand...

In the US, the availability of ESL jobs can also depend a lot on location. Border states such as Texan, New Mexico, Arizona (well, not so much anymore, thanks to the "immigration policies" of the state government there) and (especially southern) California, coastal states such as Washington, Florida, and Massachusetts tend to have more potential students and therefore more jobs available.

However, ESL at the community college level in the US is, to the best of my knowledge, fairly exclusively in an "adjunct" position. In other words, only part-time with low pay (maybe 20 -30 dollars an hour) and NO benefits.

Still, in the border states, if one speaks Spanish, there are often opportunities, either to move into the administrative ranks or to teach ESL full-time at the elementary / middle school / high school levels (provided one gets a state certification/teaching license.)